


a bone beneath the reaper's veil

by 4wholecats



Series: Whumptober 2020 [15]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Demon King Eirika, Disembowelment, F/M, Graphic Description of Corpses, Necromancy, Possession, Pre-Canon, Prompt: Possession, Whumptober 2020, takes place right before the prologue of the main game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:56:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27387547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/4wholecats/pseuds/4wholecats
Summary: “Push him.”It's a command she follows without hesitation. Seth’s guard is down. He doesn’t even get a chance to find a weapon to defend himself with, nevermind use it. She shoves him as he falls backwards, and the glass of the window shatters on contact.
Relationships: Eirika/Seth (Fire Emblem)
Series: Whumptober 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959316
Kudos: 8





	a bone beneath the reaper's veil

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [if the world were to end, would you stay by my side?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25761829) by [Mariyekos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mariyekos/pseuds/Mariyekos). 



> idk lyon was fooling around with the stones and it made eirika lose her marbles instead of him
> 
> eirika voice im no longer baby i want power

“E-Eirika…”

Fado’s final word is more of a death rattle. It leaves his mouth like a small wisp of smoke, dissipating into the air before it can reach the princess’s ears. She presses the knife in deeper, and her father gurgles, blood pooling on his tongue before dripping down the sides of his mouth and off his chin. It lands on her foot, blending with the already gore-darkened red of her boots. 

The lance in the king’s hand clatters to the floor as he goes limp, his weight forcing him off her blade with the squelch of tearing flesh. He lies perfectly still. 

_“Check for breathing.”_

The voice in her head commands it, and she listens. 

Eirika does not raise her hand to check the man’s exposed wrist. Rather, she plunges the knife back into his chest, kneeling over his corpse, blood soaking her gloves and splattering her arms as she strikes again and _again and again and-_

His face is marred now, body unrecognizable aside from his clothing. She leaves the knife there, between his fourth and fifth rib, liberating his sword from his corpse instead. It’s a nice little number; not nearly as fancy as a rapier, but sharp and precise regardless. 

She glares at the door like an animal as the sounds of footsteps approach. 

_“They’re coming to take you away. Hurt you, even.”_

The fear in her heart grows from a stifled panic to an angry cacophony.

_“Do not let them.”_

Someone opens the door, and she lunges at them, blade drawn. It slips through the unsuspecting knight’s throat easily, not even giving them the chance to speak as they are skewered below the chin. The soldier, barely a teenager, makes a high pitched noise as his eyes roll back in his head. She flicks his body aside like a child disposing of a toy. The blood from his fatal injury stains his green armor a sticky brown. 

She steps over Franz’s corpse delicately, heels clicking against the stone floor.

_“The stone… find the stone.”_

The Sacred Stone of Renais… Where could it be? If only she could find it, then maybe her head would stop pounding… The one on display was a fake, the voice had told her that much, but it didn’t know where the real one was kept; only that it was indeed in the castle. The king had known, but he refused to tell her, even when she begged; even when she held the knife to his throat and began to press down. 

Who else would know?

She walks away from the king's quarters; away from the bodies. 

_“You need not worry about being attacked. Their deaths were justified, and I will always keep you safe.”_

Eirika’s head feels like it is full of cotton, but the words calm her nerves, so she listens.

Knights and soldiers rush past her, toward the commotion. One grasps her hands and asks if she’s alright, and she smiles serenely. 

Yes, she is fine. 

No, she did not see where the assassin went. 

Yes… she’s content with being guarded for the time being. 

Where was General Seth’s office again? Second floor, near the barracks?

She thanks the soldier for his concern and goes on her way, grip still devastatingly tight on her sword. The guards didn’t suspect her. Of course they wouldn’t. She was Princess Eirika, notoriously sweet and unyieldingly kind. It was Ephraim that was the violent one…

_“This ‘General Seth’... he might know the location of the stone.”_

The voice was right. It would make sense for high ranking members of the military to know where Renais’s most prized possession was kept. Her footsteps stain the tile and carpet outside of his door. She knocks.

“Come in.”

He sits at his desk, but as she enters, he stands so quickly that his chair is knocked backwards.

“Is that _blood?_ ”

It is blood, and now that he mentions it, she can smell it too. Her clothing, her skin, even her hair is soaked with it. Royal blood, inside and out.

“I have a very important request for you.” Eirika speaks, but her voice sounds miles away. Her tongue moves of its own accord.

“Are you alright?” He’s visibly concerned, walking around the side of his desk and following her to the window. She can see the training yard from here. People have already started to scramble. The hunt for the assassin has officially begun. Might as well warn the present company.

“There is an assassin in the castle. King Fado is dead.” Something twinges in her chest as she says her father’s name. Seth’s face reflects this strange feeling, twisting into something akin to defeat for just a moment. 

“You should stay here then, Princess. I will see to your safety.”

Predictable as ever, but with the voice watching over her, she had no need for Seth’s protection. She requires something else.

“Seth, I need you to tell me where to find the Sacred Stone. We need to keep it safe. That’s what the assassin is here for.” She smiles up at him, and he takes another step forward, more cautiously this time. He stares down at the mobilizing forces in the courtyard as they file out of the gate. 

“Princess, I can assure you that the stone is more than safe as is… you are in far more danger at the moment.”

_“So he does know.”_

“Perhaps it is safe, but it would be wise to check, correct? It’s possible the enemy could have taken it during the panic; stolen it right out from under our noses.”

Seth shook his head. “That would be impossible, as they do not have the key.”

“Key?”

“Yes, the…” He trails off, tearing his eyes away from the now empty courtyard. He looks at Eirika’s face. At her broad, curious smile.

“My lady, you seem in a rather good mood considering the circumstances.”

Seth's eyes narrow.

_“He knows you killed them.”_

Does he? It only occurs to her now, that perhaps she should feel sad about the death of her father. And that horror is there, buried deep beneath the comforting words of the voice. She frowns a little. Seth takes another step forward, and she pipes up again. One last try.

“Can you tell me where the keys are, then? Just so I can make sure that they’re still in order. Perhaps I can give them to a guard to stow away for now.”

Seth doesn’t respond, but she catches the way his eyes quickly flick to her bracelet, then back to her face.

_“Your father always emphasized the importance of the bracelets. He always asked where they were… if you were wearing them.”_

The voice digs it’s talons into the grey matter of her memory, and she gasps. It hurts, like pin-pricks jutting through her skull. The suspicion on Seth’s face turns to concern as she hisses slightly. 

He stands between her and the window now.

She can feel her heartbeat thumping in her ears. The voice digs its claws in deeper.

_“Push him.”_

It's a command she follows without hesitation. Seth’s guard is down. He doesn’t even get a chance to find a weapon to defend himself with, nevermind use it. She shoves the sword through his gut, slashing up and spilling blood and organ tissue onto the windowsill. She shoves him as he falls backwards, and the glass of the window shatters on contact. He tumbles out, clothing catching and ripping on the glass shards still in place. 

She hears a muffled thud below, and when she peeks down, she sees him on the cobblestone, intestines separated from his body and curled in the dust like snakes. He doesn’t move.

She leans back into the office, breathing deeply. She wipes the edge of the sword off on her skirt.

So there are two keys. She has one right here on her wrist, but the other…

She needed to find Ephraim, but she wouldn’t make it to Grado on her own two feet. She needed a horse, and probably soldiers to accompany her… but where would she find soldiers willing to abandon the castle after the events of today? The guards probably wouldn’t even let _her_ leave on her own, even if she ordered them to stand aside. 

_“You will make your own soldiers. I can show you. Go back to the king’s chambers.”_

When they get there, it’s swarming with all manner of guards, clerics, and nobles. The voice hisses.

_“Very well. The courtyard instead.”_

The trek is a quiet one, most disregarding her as they race here and there. The courtyard is empty, all troops already deployed. Seth’s body is still there, splayed out against the stonework. His organs have stopped twitching, and most of his blood has soaked into the ground. His face is a pale grey color, and the sight makes Eirika uncomfortable for reasons she no longer understands. 

_“He is your friend, yes?”_

They’ve known each other for a decade, perhaps more. Eirika considers him a friend.

_“Let us reward him then, both for his help, and his friendship.”_

Eirika surges forward on hands and knees, scooping the organs into her arms and shoving them back where they belong with a slippery hand. His body is still warm, and the heat of his insides against her palms causes bile to rise in the back of her throat. She swallows it back down. The voice is right… She is doing a good thing. She is simply a princess, giving a knight a token of her favor. 

There is a pulse of purple fire in her vision. The wound closes as she retracts her hands. 

_“He is not dead. See? He moves still.”_

Seth is moving. His hands slide in the slickness that still coats the ground, motions mechanical and uncertain. She stands as he flails on the ground, struggling to reorient himself. Blood pours from his nose, and it’s only then that she processes that the man has not yet started to breathe. 

She offers him a hand, and when he does not take it, she grabs his arm with force, hauling him to his feet. He sways, unblinking, completely unaware of the red puddle on the ground.

_“He will assist you in reaching the king. And the king can give orders to the troops.”_

The voice prods at her mind as she stares up at Seth, who stands stock still. His eyes are still lifeless and empty. Somehow, this doesn’t feel like a proper reward.

_“He will need a weapon.”_

The knight waits patiently for her to give him an order. 

Eirika pauses for a moment before presenting Seth with the king’s sword. 

“Retrieve my father’s body. At any cost.”

Seth grabs the sword without hesitation, and the doubt in Eirika’s mind is crushed.

**Author's Note:**

> resurrecting all your former friends and loved ones as brainless monsters in order to raise a dark god from the dead #GirlBoss


End file.
